Globalization and standardization of endoscopy practice and education with the aid of advanced information & technology and adoption of artificial intelligence

In the previous decades, there have been a big gap between hospitals with prominent resource of personnel and learning opportunity and those without. There have been several nice measures to mitigate this gap such as holding international conferences, live demonstration and hands-on courses, and inviting on-site visit of experienced endoscopists. Although these conventional measures still have important roles in maintaining the best practice and providing the high-quality education, the new wave is coming which includes the use of novel information & technology measures. Today, frequent use of video call functionality makes it much easier to provide “virtual” training in the hospitals which otherwise do not have supervisors of the specific procedures. Holding international symposiums is not that cumbersome nor costly with use of the virtual platform as well. Furthermore, with the aid of novel artificial intelligence technology, it is getting possible for average-level endoscopists to achieve outcomes that only expert endoscopists could do. Standardization of the endoscopy practice and education is being facilitated with the introduction of these innovative technologies, which will lead to patients’ benefits in the long run.